A bright flash of blue filled the TARDIS, transporting The Doctor from his comfy position in the library to a sandy beach littered with rocks. The Doctor's eyes lit up with memory "I've been here before! This is Bad Wolf Bay" His voice disrupted the silence. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted a rather odd stone that appears out of place with the stones surround it. Making his way over he noticed the writing on the marble surface 'Here lies Rose Tyler 1986-2054, Defender of the Earth'. Tears filled his eyes as he fell to his knees on the cold sand.
"She insisted she was buried here, you and I both know the reason." The Doctor jumped at the sound of another mans voice. His older self's voice. He looked up to see his 10th regeneration staring down at him through old, sad eyes. "She was too young. Only 68 when she died"
His other self sat down next to him and pulled out a small object from his pocket "You should have died with her, why didn't you?" The Doctor's voice was hoarse from crying.
"Something went wrong. When Donna created me something happened that wasn't supposed to" He opened his palm and showed the object to the Doctor "Rose told me that 49 years ago you crash landed in this universe, she told me that 49 years ago you gave up 10 years of your life to get her home safe. She told me that she wanted to return the favour" the old him placed a small bit of glowing blue metal into his hand. "Its a part of the TARDIS, well, an artificial part anyway. Rose worked on it for years, she wanted to make sure you never got stuck here again. She gave up ten years of her life just so you could go home, just like you did once for her"
When The Doctor's flesh touched the metal it started to glow and a familiar blue box started to materialize behind them.
"She never loved me" The past him sighed painfully "Not like she loved you."
"But, we're the same. Or we were anyway" The Doctor gave himself a quizzical look.
"No we're not. She loved me, sure, but she was in love with you. She always was"
Fishing the TARDIS key from his inside pocket, The Doctor made his way to his wooden box wiping stray tears from his eyes and loose sand from his clothes. He turned and smiled at the old man tending the grave of his lost companion. "Rose Tyler…" was all he said. He closed his eyes and closed the door. Clara looked up from the chair by the console. "You were in the Library and now you're walking through the front door. what did you do sneak out the window like a rebellious child?" The doctor smiled and plugged the piece of metal into the console. "Doctor? Are you alright?" her voice filled with concern.
"I'm always alright" He smiled at the familiarity "Anyway Allons-y."
"Where did you go?" She touched his arm slightly.
"Nowhere, i was just" He hesitated, thinking of how to word his adventure "Finishing some unfinished business. Why don't you get dressed?"
"I am dressed" She gestures down at her jeans and tee-shirt.
"Not for 18th Century France you're not. C'mon you know where the wardrobe is"
Clara laughed and left the room, searching for something decent to wear. "…I love you" He whispered into the empty space surrounding him, finishing the sentence he should have finished years ago.
